Posted on 03/04/2007 9:46:20 AM PST by LdSentinal
NEW YORK, New York (1010 WINS) -- The Village Voice, which has had four editors in just over a year, has fired its most recent one after management concerns came to a head following a controversial staff meeting, a spokeswoman said Saturday.
David Blum was fired Friday after just six months as editor in chief.
His termination came after a Wednesday meeting in which staffers discussed a lack of racial diversity in the paper's hiring. Wayne Barrett, a Voice staff member, said Blum responded to concerns in a way some may have construed as offensive or dismissive. Barrett said, however, he was surprised to learn Blum had been ousted.
Voice spokeswoman Maggie Shnayerson said although the meeting was the ``catalyst'' for Blum's dismissal, the real reason was differences in management styles.
``David Blum is not a racist,'' she said. ``It was not a decision that was reached in any kind of knee-jerk way. It was in response to concerns that had been growing. It's just an ongoing feeling that it wasn't working.''
Blum declined to comment Saturday.
The famed alternative weekly newspaper has had turbulent turnover at the top, especially after a 2006 merger. Veteran editor Don Forst resigned in December 2005. In March of last year, his replacement, Doug Simmons, was fired after a fabrication scandal involving a reporter. Erik Wemple, who had been editing the Washington City Paper, resigned two weeks after being hired in June. Blum took over in September.
Bill Jensen, a former editor of the Boston Phoenix who directs new media for Village Voice Media, will serve as the interim editor in chief now that Blum is gone, Shnayerson said.
The Voice, founded in 1955, covers arts, entertainment and news with an irreverent style that often stretches conventions at most major newspapers. In January 2006, Village Voice Media, which runs the Voice and five other papers, merged with Phoenix-based New Times Media, the publisher of 11 alternative weeklies.
The 17 papers have a combined weekly circulation of 1.8 million.
I feel their pain.
Good thing he didn't insinuate Edwards was a falming poofer, they would have executed him.
Sounds like a bit of ideological "thrashing about" going on there. Pardon me for laughing, but haaaaaaa, haaaaaa, haaaaa, haaaaa. ROTFLMAO.
I just love it when the left totally falls apart. Of course, they don't see it that way at all.
what did he say????....
Mainstream media's problem is not a lack of diversity -- as it is a lack of quality.
How many flavors of mediocrity do we need?
Changing their format, going with , All Elvis, All the time?
I wonder what Nat Hentoff thinks about all this "diversity" idiocy?
That's the question, isn't it? The whole incident and the reporting thereof concerns something that the man said and yet apparently we can never know. I think it must be really funny. He spoke the truth in some irreverent manner that shocked this PC crowd at the Voice.
If you want to oust someone, just label them a bigot. Whether the person is or not doesn't matter. Just the label is sufficient to kill a career.
That's so gay.
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